Vartai gallery introduces the work of the Spanish artist Ignasi Aballí. The artist has participated in the Venice Biennale in 2007. Aballi’s works hosted by Vartai gallery reflect themes reoccurring throughout the author’s entire creative work: connection between images and text, conceptual approach to painting, time, relationship between art history and modern city life, images of modern world, and influence of everyday experiences on the creative process. According to the artist himself, each act or phenomenon of reality can become a new interpretation of the reality. Aballi uses different techniques for his works – he combines painting, photography, video, textile scraps stuck in the filter of a tumble dryer…

The artistic practices of the Lithuanian author Gintaras Makarevičius, who joins Ignasi Aballi in this exhibition, bridge scenography, documentary, video art, installations, performance, drawings and objects. The visitors of Vartai gallery will have an opportunity to see the artist's video film The Testament of Siberia. It is a film where words conflict with images. This conflict links memories, knowledge and experience. Archive images (ca 1960-1970) of moments of an unknown Soviet family preparing for the New Year’s celebration shot on a Super 8 mm film discord with the voiceover telling about exile and life in the Siberian wastelands. In 2008, the artist was awarded the 1st Prize of the Swiss film festival Lugano for his documentary Winter Parallels.